Just how the FRICK did the Allies lose this battle? Germany had a shit tier navy, while the British and French navies was literally the strongest on earth combined with the second strongest in Europe.
Was it a fluke? Was Allied leadership absolutely braindead for all of 1940?
france and the uk had a serious attitude problem and norway had no desire to fight
Norway was the most motivated one. The problem was they literally got stabbed in the back by Britain after Narvik and the French weren't motivated to fight outside of France
The Royal Navy was the strongest in the world but its strength was diluted across the entire world while Germany's was concentrated almost entirely in the North Sea. Despite this, the Germans paid a high price for Norway:
>The German losses at sea were heavy, with the sinking of one of the Kriegsmarine's two heavy cruisers, two of its six light cruisers, 10 of its 20 destroyers and six U-boats. With several more ships severely damaged, the German surface fleet had only three cruisers and four destroyers operational in the aftermath of the Norwegian Campaign.[1][113] Two torpedo boats and 15 light naval units were also lost during the campaign.[114] Two German battleships and two cruisers were damaged during the campaign.[115]
>Official German sources give the number of German aircraft lost during the Norwegian Campaign as 90, with other estimates by historian François Kersaudy ranging as high as 240.[114]
>In transport ships and merchant vessels, the Germans lost 21 ships at 111,700 tons, around 10% of what they had available at the time.[116]
So, they were quite literally decimated?
German sources give the number of German aircraft lost during the Norwegian Campaign as 90, with other estimates by historian François Kersaudy ranging as high as 240.[114]
One of those was a Messerschmitt Bf109 that was shot down by my grandpa.
I'm pretty sure he would regret it, if he were still alive to see what the West has made of the victory won by him and his comrades.
if you like your authoritarian system so much then just go to north korea
Dude he would eat a burger then try to beat the b***h out of you
How did he bag a 109? Didn't they mostly send 110s due to range?
It's shame that one of your grandpa children racemixed
Get out and get fricked. Literally.
pretty sure he would be disappointed in the /misc/chud social reject his grandkid turned into.
comparable loses at worst, favorable for Germany at best
Not at all. Put those losses against the total fleet strength of both navies. Or even compare the Home Fleet alone with the German Navy. The Germans lost a far greater % of their naval power
The home fleet alone had more capital ships in theater than Germany had destroyers and capital ships. The RN itself may be stretched, but the home fleet was not.
You know what the funniest part about this was? Hitler asked for a general who was experienced in that part of the world to plan the invasion. The closest they could get was one who was briefly assigned to train Finns after WW1, who bought a travel guide to Norway at a nearby store and planned the whole thing in an afternoon.
I can give a nuanced reply, but that's not how PrepHole works. So ill tell the truth in a way that almost sounds like a shitpost, but it isn't: the incompetence and cowardice of the Home Fleets Admiralty simply cannot be understated up until nearly the end of the war.
> the incompetence and cowardice of the Home Fleets Admiralty simply cannot be understated up until nearly the end of the war.
What a moron. Why would Britain use a fleet that is meant to protect itself from invasion to help Norway? Britain was always playing the long game a more than prepared to let other nations get conquered.
Sit and build up with Allies then go for Italy then Germany. Frick Norway.
The little fighting they did was a token gesture like sending troops to Greece. 'Hey guys we fought for you all along and defended your home land, now you will favour us post war'
Ah yes, the age old strategy of letting your opponent seize key terrain
>Why would Britain use a fleet that is meant to protect itself from invasion to help Norway?
Because defending Norway means threatening Germany's best source of Iron ore in Sweden. By securing Scandinavia, the Allies could strangle German war industry.
The bongs got defeated everywhere, why would Norway be different?
The Allies weren't there to defeat the Germans. The English forces came to Norway to invade it, or rather take control of key cities along the coast including Narvik, and had planned for an easy conquest. Forces allocated to this were mostly a fleet element that was many times bigger than the Norwegian one, and light infantry including French Foreign Legion and Polish units. At the last minute they found the Germans in front of their very noses, did some very quick thinking and attacked the Germans instead. They were abysmally outfitted for that task. Things ground on for a while until Germany went Blitzkrieg and then the English went home, leaving the Norwegians holding one town and little more.
>t. Norwegian
is this not known for the common ww2 gay?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Alphabet
Norway is an inpregnable mountain fortress once occupied by a competent force.
Nonsense. The country is wide open for most of the map. It has been invaded again and again. We've had seven wars with Sweden alone!
>Bongland plinks Norway now and again with a few commando raids
>Ties up 300,000 German soldiers that could have been used in France with basically a few ships and commandos
>Deletes 50% of Germanys destroyers and puts there entire Navy on light duties
Doesnt seem too bad
how many of those 300,000 were actually part of the occupation force and not just members of the Kriegsmarine / Luftwaffe or retreating forces from Finland?
>Ties up 300,000 German soldiers that could have been used in France with basically a few ships and commandos
Yes the famous Divisions of the 199th Infantry, 230th Infantry, 270th Infantry, 269th Infantry, 274th Infantry, 280th Infantry, 710th Infantry etc. Equal to any Panzer Division and would turned the tide in the East and Normandy.
Not worth it, especially for the aluminium.
Seriously though; the German occupation forces in Norway (as opposed to the invading ones) were for the most part second line forces. Quite more capable forces like the SS and gebirgsjager ones passed through Norway but weren't stationed there. There were complaints from the high command that units stationed in Norway were getting less fit, not more, due to generous food supplies and little training.
>Seriously though; the German occupation forces in Norway (as opposed to the invading ones) were for the most part second line forces.
The same calibre of forces manning the Atlantic wall. They also still need fed and equipped.
Because it wasn't decided at sea, it was decided on land.
They didn't. Germany succeeded simply by winning in France, forcing the brits to abandon the fight.
Yes, the British leadership was moronic. Their "plan" was to wait until Germany violated Norwegian territory - or use the winter war as ruse - in order to themselves invade and occupy northern Norway and Sweden.
British war planning was literally delusional early war, and they mainly acted reactively on German initiatives. Britain believed that the invasion of Norway was in fact an attempt to break the blockade and disrupt shipping in the Atlantic. Even after sinking the Rio de Janeiro and being told by Norway that the survivors admitted to being part of a force to invade Norway, Britain shifted their focus to the west.
Churchill tried to invade Norway three times in the period november 1939 to april 1940. The forces were recruited and trained, and ships were allocated, but he could not get the parliament's approval. Having the germans attack first would circumvent that political hurdle, as it indeed eventually did. And as at Gallipolli, Churchill underestimated the enemy badly. There was no way whatsoever for the british forces with its existing resources to capture the now occupied cities.